


If Today Was Your Last Day

by EffortlesslyUncool



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Advent Children ain't gonna happen, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, F/F, Female Friendship, Femslash, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Shameless Smut, What Holy Materia?, Women Do It Better, Yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2019-01-16 20:51:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12350442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EffortlesslyUncool/pseuds/EffortlesslyUncool
Summary: AU AerTi One-shot. Aerith didn't die. It is the last night they have together before they face Sephiroth. Tifa struggles to come to terms with her feelings for the Cetra and how it will impact their future.





	If Today Was Your Last Day

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own any of the characters nor any aspects of FFVII taken and used here. I do not own the song from which this fic is inspired by. I took a few liberties with the setting and perhaps even character profiles.
> 
> Note: Inspired by Nickelback's "If today was your last day"
> 
> This is a Yuri so if a little girl on girl doesn't float your boat, RUN AWAY. NOW.
> 
> Cross posted from FF.net, written in 2012. No beta reader, all mistakes are my own. Complete one shot and a separate AU from Pressure Points and Slow Hands.

Tomorrow it would all be resolved. Everyone and everything they had been fighting for; their fate would be decided tomorrow. It could mean the end of the line for any one of them. No... no.  _Stop it, Tifa._ She scolded herself, having already gone through that mental loop countless times already. Sephiroth couldn't win. They were too prepared. After months of fighting, they could essentially predict one another's moves and move copacetically to each other. They were ready.

Darkness was cascading in a hurry around the small inn. The atmosphere, for Tifa at least, was starting to become unbearable. She felt herself losing the battle against the negativity and started to regret that she hadn't joined her friends,  _her family._ In the background, downstairs, she could hear their laughter. She felt a pang. Tifa didn't need to place much effort to visualise what they were laughing about. Yuffie was the most likely candidate as the root of the amusement; harassing Vincent or, had pulled some kind of practical joke on Barret.  _She must have some kind of death wish, she frequently mused._ Cid would be taking a drag from his cigarette, leaning through the lounge window. Red and Cait would likely be sitting off to the side. Red would probably take refuge from the frivolities soon; Cait would only encourage Yuffie. Then there would be Cloud. And Aerith. Cloud and Aerith. The centre piece, sitting on the sofa together, she'd be giggling.  _Tifa felt her stomach knotting._

Tifa had lost her family before. Her parents, Zangan, Jessie...Biggs and Wedge. She really wasn't sure if she could go through the trauma again. Swinging her legs around, she perched on the side of the bed. Scrunching her fists through her hair, her mind fell onto her friends. Onto  _her._  Of course it would be painful to lose any of them, but to lose their flower girl would be a stab to the heart. Aerith acted like the glue. Aerith was classed as a treasure by every single one of them; she did not limit her time for any single one of them, brought joy and healing after each battle and after every stumble -she summoned their morale back from the brink when all looked bleak. After an awkward start, they had forged something of a friendship after Tifa had accepted that Cloud was not going to reciprocate the feelings she harboured for him, and was obviously more interested in Aerith. Not that she blamed him. Not that she blamed him  _at all._

She reflected on her affections toward the brunette of late. There was one occasion, which stuck out in her mind more than any. They'd made camp one night after having visited the Temple of the Ancients, the trip had apparently made a special impression on Aerith as she'd agreed to a mild sparring session with Yuffie. It was then, in the last light of the day that Tifa had seen her with an all new perspective. The Cetra wasn't nearly as fragile as everyone perceived her to be at all. Those delicate hands grasped her pole, parrying every attack Yuffie could throw and then some. Hair displaced, skin flushed and glistening with a thin sheen of sweat...dress bunched slightly at her slim hips-  _Shiva she looks outrageously good after a workout,_ Tifa had mused -albeit granting herself a mental slap on the wrist. She could have also sworn that Aerith had turned and winked in her direction following victory over a disgruntled teenager. For the first night in months, she awoke in tousled bed sheets not by nightmares but by a dream containing Aerith and content much less innocent than her damned flowers. A coy grin played with her lips the following day.

A fortnight later, as Tifa had jumped to block an incoming attack on Aerith she had taken a near fatal blow. Tifa had danced precariously close to death and had apparently caused the entire squad to worry themselves silly. She was touched when she had learned that Aerith hadn't left her side during the comatose, praying. The first images Tifa's eyes had recorded on rousing were those emerald orbs gazing into her own with unabashed concern, Aerith had proceeded to throw herself around Tifa; her floral scent engulfing her senses.  _She smelt good too._ Numerous occasions following seemed to suggest that the seeming attraction was mutual - a brief blush after an accidental boob graze and a kiss on the cheek which lingered a moment too long coupled with a giggle to boot.  _If that wasn't one of those moments you'd give your left leg to go back and re-do. She thought of a plethora of situations containing hungry, unrestrained actions aimed to dishevel the pink ribbons and provoking more than a giggle..._

Snapping back into reality, she straightened up on the bed rubbing weary eyes defiantly.  _STOP IT. Stop. It. Right now, Teef. Bury those thoughts right now. You'll get hurt and you'll ruin a perfectly fine friendship. You know better than anyone else that Aerith's behaviour is ambiguous at best -flirtatious and caring. That's her, that is Aerith. She acts like that with everyone. Don't get attached to someone you could lose, stupid._

She had been so absorbed in her mental trip, she was unsure of how much time had passed since telling the group she was going to rest, though vaguely aware that the commotion downstairs had since quieted down. The sound of the door latch opening and closing fell upon deaf ears, as Tifa stretched; her line of sight moving out of the window as a dull ache set in her neck.

"The moon is beautiful tonight," A soft silence murmured, breaking the dead silence.

She spun, barely able to halt her fist from dislocating the Cetra's jaw. Eyes widening, "Shiva, Aer! Couldn't you have, like, knocked or something?" She feigned anger, but secretly was glad to have someone distract her from her thoughts.

A smile graced Aerith's lithe features, she giggled, lowering herself onto the bed next to Tifa. While she may have been glad to have some company, following her thought train prior to the interruption her eyes refused to meet Aerith's gaze that was burning a hole in her cheek. Warm fingers began to waltz in circles across the skin of Tifa's open palm, instigating a shiver.  _Look, more of that tactile shit. You're not that special, she probably tried to braid Vincent's hair earlier. She isn't going anywhere with him._ Doubt plagued her mind.

"I thought you'd have been spending tonight with Cloud..."

Another small giggle, "Why is that?"

 _Face-palm. Is she naive or doing this on purpose?_ Still unwilling to look at her, she inhaled sharply before continuing, "It's kinda obvious you two are, y'know. Together."

The emphasis on the T came like venom from a snake. The soft fingers stopped caressing her skin.

"Tifa, silly, I don't feel that way about him."

For the first time since Aerith had entered the room, Tifa looked up at her, quizzically. "Then you have a funny way of showing him how you  _don't_ feel, then."

Her hands motioned to tuck Tifa's fringe behind her ears, opening up her face so she could  _see_ her. Tifa stiffened slightly at the intimate act.  _Her hands felt so comforting, a desire to nuzzle into them was overwhelming but the voice of rationality quickly shot it down and the agitation returned._

"You might say I've been playing him to ensure I get what I really want," She giggled, leaning in a little closer, closing the world and their prying ears out.  _Aerith... Why? She couldn't risk committing herself - the repercussions are too much._

She was suffocating. She is a fighter. Burying your enemy is so much easier than negotiating, ignore the emotions. They'll go away. Just like the people.

But she didn't. Minutes passed and the atmosphere grew thick.

Sensing the affliction, " Tifa... I thought...-" She sighed, "-Nevermind. Do you remember Zack?"

Tifa nodded rigidly.

"You met him. You had to have noticed that finding any maturity in that boy was like finding a needle in a haystack." She clapped under her chin, her long fingers steepling under her nose, gazing into Tifa's faded eyes. "-Before he disappeared he told me something. Made me promise to do something. He said 'Each day... it's a gift and not a given right.' "

Taking in a deep breath, the fingers moved and weaved in and out of the obsidian locks, brushing ever so slightly over Tifa's shoulders. Tifa's breathing became shallow, her head turning away once again.

"He told me to 'Live each moment like my last, you only live once. Every second counts.' " Aerith was leaning into her now, the stark contrast between the cool twilight air and her hot breath on her neck caused a microcosm of butterflies to erupt in her stomach.

She found herself uncomfortable. The growing heat at the centre of her being threatened to take over sober thought, the impulse wanted to jump Aerith and ravish her; to take her on that very bed and make her moan Tifa's name. But objectively should just  _couldn't._ Not now, in a day's time it could be  _all over._ She got up, she had to shut it out.

Aerith bowed her head in slight exasperation as she watched Tifa erect her famous brick walls around her emotions.

Stammering, "I' -I've gotta take a shower." The brawler paced toward the bathroom and disappeared.

Slamming the door behind her, she opened the faucet on the shower allowing it to heat to temperature. Shedding the white shirt and the miniskirt, she stepped inside, gasping at the initial burn from the water. Allowing the water to soak her hair, the water soothed the aching muscles. Scrubbing her face, a desperate whimper escaped her lips.  _Damn it, Teef. What the fuck, over? What DO you want? WHERE did your spark go? Did it leave when you precious little Cloud left for Shin-Ra? Just twenty minutes ago, wasn't she yearning for this? Aerith may have well as been on a silver platter. Fuck._

By her very nature, Aerith was far more outgoing than the woman running from her. On hearing the shower door close, she glided across the room. Gently opening and entering the bathroom, she stood for a second and listened to Tifa scrub relentlessly at her skin, cursing. Removing her pink dress and discarding the ribbons from her hair, and allowing her undergarments fall to the floor she proceeded to step into the shower.

 _Gods_ , were Aerith's first thoughts.  _Her jaw hung ajar slightly, a tongue slid over her bottom lip. Gods. Anything that she was going to say was pushed to the back of her mind as her eyes feasted on the sight before her. Tifa had her back to Aerith, her hair over her shoulder; a picture of perfection if she ever saw it was defined as the water skimmed down the curve of her hourglass, over the mound of her ass. Aerith's mouth dried on seeing the smallest hint of her luscious breast. She would go to hell for this, she was sure._

"When are you going to heed my advice, Tifa?" A throaty giggle emerged from deep within her, "Drop the inhibitions, we both felt something..."

Tifa froze, straightening herself up.  _Those delicious muscles built from years of training were twitching, begging to be touched. Aerith felt herself becoming tauter, her heart rate kicking up a notch, heat pooling in her abdomen._ Shuffling forward, Aerith stood against Tifa, her own hard nipples feathering Tifa's back. The fruits of her labour saw goosebumps flare fleetingly over the satin skin, into the shallow valleys of the fighter's scars ...those imperfections which made her seem all the more  _perfect._

Smiling against her shoulder, the flower girl allowed her hand to brush over the taller woman's hip, travelling to lightly cup her right breast. Tifa's breath hitched. "I flirted with and lead Cloud on to make sure he wasn't going to give me a headache over you, Ti-"

Right there.

Tifa broke from her restraints, spinning under the water; pinning Aerith against cool tile, arms either side of her head and breasts flush against Aerith's smaller, pert pair. Looking up from Tifa's swollen lips, Aerith found crimson - those rich chestnut eyes now ablaze with a fiery passion. She had closed the gap to mere millimetres, so close Aerith could almost taste her. Barely more than a whisper through heavy lidded eyes, her soft lips brushing tantalisingly over Aerith's own, "You've tortured me  _Aerith_..."

_Oh Shiva have mercy, the juxtaposition of the hot water flowing down between their wanton bodies; Tifa's leg parting her own, rubbing the apex between her legs and her name being spoken by the woman whom she's fantasized about since day one... saying her name laced in lust. Out of sheer arousal she rocked against the fighter's toned thigh._

"A dangerous game, honeybee-"

Her lips came crushing down against Aerith's. Snaking her arms around Tifa's waste and pulling her closer, Aerith welcoming Tifa's assault on her mouth. There would be another time for tenderness, but not now, no. Fuelled by raw passion, she bit down on Aerith's bottom lip as part of the searing kiss, greedy hands grasping her neck; it almost scared her. As the younger woman became fixated on her jawline, advancing toward her ear and tugging, probing, Aerith tasted blood. Hands tangled in the mass of soaked brunette hair.

Giggling, teasing, "Don't you think you should be careful, gotta big day tomorrow..."

"Ssssh-" Nipping, pressing herself harder into the smaller woman, grinding. "-If you're worried about a little cut-" Tifa's face was now over her own once more, "-You came to the wrong girl-" In one seductive stroke, she licked the blood from her lip. The pianist's hands were grasping at the flower girl's breast, pinching her taut nipple, "-And should just stay in my bed come morning-"

Heightening pleasure rippled throughout her. Tifa had peppered her neck, then collarbone with impatient kisses ...each one of them setting a new patch of skin alight; her tongue had pursued a wicked endeavour on her left breast, licking and biting and an inquisitive hand had discovered the sensitive skin on the inside of her thighs, exploring. Gasping, with elegant hands fisting her hair in encouragement, Tifa caught Aerith's weight has her knees buckled as her sinful tongue skimmed the edges of her belly button and the edge of heaven; her actions rewarded with a groan she'd never heard come from Aerith before.  _It was damned near the sexiest thing she'd ever heard, spurring the brawler on more._

She was  _throbbing,_ it was  _painfully good._ Tifa was at her pubic bone, taking her sweet time nuzzling the soft curls and inhaling the musky scent of Aerith's arousal; acting like an addict she needed  _more_. Pushing into the obsidian mass of hair,  _begging_  Tifa to touch her. She obliged. A hot breath over her lower folds followed two insatiable hands grasping onto Aerith's thighs,  _Planet help me!_ She writhed, losing the will to think coherently. Her torture complete as Tifa's hot mouth sucked gently; devouring Aerith's core once, a tongue dipping inside.  _No, don't stop there! More, please..._

"Tifa...please-"

Languidly, she rose to full height, lifting Aerith; the smaller woman locking her legs around Tifa's hips, leaning back on the tile,. Tifa marvelled at the sight of her lover, flushed  _all because of her._. She claimed her lips, Aerith's arms hooking around her shoulders.

"- _Please_ " A throaty plead escaped.

Tifa slid one arm around her waist, the other between their hips, grazing a thumb over Cetra's nub of nerves causing a desperate cry; pearly whites gleamed and crimson hues sparkled as water droplets encrusted the thick lashes, marrying mischief with seduction she purred, "Do you want me?"

A nod was about as much as Aerith could muster through a haze of black and scarlet. Another brush and a long digit stroked her insides; she was relentless...like an animal, Aerith could barely stand her perfect strokes- she could barely breathe. Another digit pushed inside and the thumb running circles around her stiff clit...

Adjusting their position so that Aerith was cornered in the cubicle, Tifa caved in, biting her neck, thrusting her own hips up against Aerith's with a rhythm as old as time..  _It was oh so carnal. Oh. So. Perfect. She was so close, whimpers and moans spurred Tifa on more._

" _Yes, Aerith" she hummed, head bowed resting on her shoulder. "Come for me."_

She came undone, on command the ecstasy flooded her body and threatened to burst at her seams as Tifa captured the cries of pleasure in another smoldering kiss, drinking up anything and everything the Cetra had to offer. Supporting her full weight as the brunette rode out the full length of her release on those talented fingers, the younger woman savoured the moment. In some alternate universe, she may have been worried about the days to come. But right there, right then. She just didn't give a rat's ass.

Spent, Aerith slumped over Tifa's shoulder, their bodies tangled in a tender embrace under the stream of hot water, they had both needed this. "If today is my last day...I die happy woman."

A small smile tugged on the corners of the fighter's mouth, and the words  _"I love you, Aerith"_ stuck like a vinyl record.


End file.
